


the world is only white noise

by umji



Category: Oh My Girl (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 05:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13183014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umji/pseuds/umji
Summary: Silence didn’t mean they were safe.





	the world is only white noise

**Author's Note:**

> a little writing exercise and an old wip i wanted to finish up before the year was over

Jiho could hear a faint clanging from downstairs as Hyejin tinkered away in her workshop. Apart from that and the faint whistling of the wind, it was silent as she kept watch. It wasn’t to everyone’s taste - Yewon hated being up on the roof alone and nine times out of ten Hyojung would cave in to her pleas and join her - but Jiho didn’t mind it. The quiet allowed her to reflect on the day, the past week. It reminded her not to be complacent. Silence didn’t mean they were safe. There were creatures out there everywhere, they had to stay alert at all times.

She stayed on the roof until the sky turned a muddled blue-orange and then made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Hyojung and Hyejin were sat opposite each other at the table eating breakfast.

“Nothing to report,” Jiho said, slinging her crossbow off of her shoulder and leaning it against the table leg.

Hyojung pushed a bowl of porridge towards her. “Then eat.”

Jiho picked up her spoon and they continued to eat in silence.

“I made you some more bolts,” Hyejin said. “I’m running out of materials though, we could really do with going out on a supply run soon.”

Hyojung nodded. “Maybe tomorrow you could head out with Shiah,” She said, turning to Jiho.

“I can do it this afternoon,” Jiho said. “Just write me a list and I’ll look at it whenever I wake up.”

Hyojung pursed her lips and Jiho went back to eating her cereal. She knew exactly what Hyojung was thinking. _You need more rest. You should take less night shifts. I worry about you_. They’d had that conversation a dozen times already, but Jiho would not be persuaded. Hyojung nodded at her and pulled a notepad towards her so she could make a start on the list.

One by one, the others trickled into the room. Shiah and Yoobin were still half asleep and the bags under Seunghee’s eyes seemed to be getting deeper. Yewon was in the middle of telling Hyejin about the nightmare she’d had (the one she’d had what seemed like a hundred times now, where she slowly loses them all and is left alone, surrounded by ravenous, hungry undead) when Hyojung slid the rest of her bowl of porridge towards Jiho. They locked eyes and Jiho smiled, picked up her spoon and began to eat.

.

“It’s getting colder,” Shiah said, pulling her jacket shut tighter over her body.

“What month do you reckon it is?” Jiho asked, kicking at a stone on pavement.The streets were quiet today, which was a relief. It was never easy doing a supply run, but it was a lot harder when there was a hoard of zombies blocking your path.

“I don’t know. Yoobin says she thinks September has gone already, she said she feels older,” Shiah laughed. “The days are definitely getting shorter. Late October maybe?”

“Maybe we should move again before it starts getting dark all the time,” Jiho said. “We’ve raided almost all the houses nearby and running out of food midwinter is Hyojung unnie’s worst nightmare.”

“I’m pretty sure her worst nightmare is a little more gruesome than that,” Shiah murmured. She turned to Jiho, nudging her in the side. “You got a bad feeling?”

Jiho shrugged. “Just a little unsettled. Like we’ve overstayed our welcome here. We’ve never stayed in one place longer than a few months.”

“I’ll mention it to Hyojung unnie,” Shiah said. “Race you to the end of the block?”

Shiah jogged off ahead of Jiho, grinning and Jiho gripped her crossbow tighter as she ran after her.

 

They were on their way back to the house when Shiah stopped in her tracks, grabbing hold of Jiho’s arm and pulling her behind an old rusty car.

“What?” Jiho asked, hand on her crossbow.

“I thought I heard something,” Shiah said. “Down there.”

Shiah pointed ahead of them to what was probably once one of the nicest houses on the block. Now it just looked desolate. The remainders of a picket fence were scattered in the front garden and the bushes looked as though they had been trampled through. 

Jiho walked at Shiah’s side as they edged closer to the bushes, her weapon at the ready. Shiah moved first, machete in hand and ready to strike. There was a yelp, and Jiho frowned, watching as a girl around their age scrambled backwards on the pavement.

“I’m human!” She exclaimed, holding her hands up. “Please don’t hurt me.”

Jiho glanced over at Shiah and watched as she pursed her lips and then slowly lowered her machete and sheathed it at her waist. Jiho lowered her crossbow slightly, but didn’t remove her finger from the trigger.

“What’s your name?” Shiah asked. “What are you doing out here alone?”

The girl let out a breath of relief, wrapping her arms around her knees. Jiho gave her a look over. Her dark brown hair was messy and pulled back into a ponytail and there were scrapes and bruises visible on her neck and through the holes in her jeans. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked exhausted. Jiho lowered her crossbow a little further.

“Mihyun. I’m Mihyun.” She said. “I was with my family but…” She dropped her head into her knees for a moment, before lifting it again with a sniff. “We got seperated a while ago and I’ve been fending for myself ever since. My ankle…” She trailed off again.

“What happened?” Jiho asked.

“I was being chased and I dived over that,” Mihyun said, gesturing to the remains of the picket fence. “Wasn’t really looking where I was going and I fell. I thought I was done for, but the undead got distracted and went in another direction.”

“You lucked out,” Jiho said. 

“Yeah I did,” Mihyun said with a small smile.

Shiah sighed and glanced over at Jiho, before stepping closer to Mihyun. “Come on, we’ll try and get you some help.”

Jiho walked behind as Shiah helped Mihyun along, an arm around her waist as she limped down the street. She knew it wasn’t Mihyun’s fault, but the slow place they were taking was driving her insane. The undead that had been following her had to be close by.

Fortunately, they made it back to the safe house in one piece. Hyojung rushed out to meet them, helping Shiah carry Mihyun into the house, and Jiho locked up after them, dumping the supplies in the kitchen.

“Who’s the newbie?” Seunghee asked, watching as Shiah and Hyojung sat Mihyun down on the sofa and propped her bad ankle up with some pillows.

“We found her on the way back. Twisted her ankle running from the zombies.” Jiho explained.

Seunghee pulled a face. “Yikes. No family?”

Jiho shook her head and Seunghee sighed. “Well, I best make some extra food for dinner. Give me a hand?”

Jiho rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

.

Everyone seemed to take to Mihyun almost immediately. She’d been quiet the first few days she was with them, spending most of her time sleeping and the rest of her time observing them. When her ankle had gotten a little better she started helping out - making meals with Hyojung and Seunghee in the evening and asking Hyejin questions as she tinkered away into the night. Jiho watched as she made Yewon laugh with silly jokes and stories from her life before all this, and chatted away with Yoobin and Shiah into the night.

It was strange, getting used to another person living, eating and fighting with them. Jiho had kept her distance at first, but once Mihyun had made it clear she wasn’t planning on leaving, she relaxed. Mihyun took on night shifts, tried her hardest to train with a knife and helped Hyejin sketch out improvements for their defences. Slowly but surely, she was becoming a part of the family.

.

“It’s snowing,” Mihyun said, wrapping one of Hyojung’s knitted scarves around her neck.

Jiho groaned, walked to the window and scowled up at the sky. “Fantastic.”

“It’s not that heavy yet,” She said. “If we’re quick, I don’t think it’ll cause too many problems.”

“It makes visibility shit though,” Jiho muttered.

Hyejin tapped her on the butt as she passed by. “Then just take an extra set of eyes with you.”

In the end, Seunghee agreed to go with them. Jiho wrapped up warm, tucking a few extra knives into her jacket. It never hurt to be prepared. By the time they left the safe house, the snow was coming down heavier. It had to be late November or early December by now. The sky was already starting to grow dark, so she moved quickly along to the abandoned local supermarket. Its windows and doors had been boarded up when they first found it, and they’d left them up so that no-one would try and seek them out. They’d learnt that lesson a while back - in times like this, not everyone had good intentions. Supplies were low - there were definitely others nearby using its resources, they’d been trekking further and further away from the house each time they went to try and find someplace new to grab food from. They had a little allotment in the back room of the house - Yewon had grown plenty tomatoes and carrots and potatoes already, but Jiho made sure to grab some seed packets from one of the displays and put them in her bag as they walked by. 

The street lights flickered on just as they left the supermarket, fixing the wooden boards back into place. Jiho took the lead, crossbow at the ready as she marched through the snow. It crunched underfoot and she winced. It wasn’t too loud, but if there were zombies close enough, they would definitely head their way. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and thought about the (lukewarm) bath she was going to have when they got back.

Another five minutes passed and she heard Seunghee gasp quietly. Jiho glanced over to see her pointing behind them. There were around three - maybe four, Jiho couldn’t quite make them out in the dark - zombies slowly making their way through the snow towards them. Their low groans got louder as they got closer and Jiho felt her stomach drop. The sound was so unsettling, it would never not make her shudder. She steeled herself and began to edge away, whispering to Mihyun to take the lead as she watched their backs. 

Jiho was so focused on the zombies behind her, that she hadn’t realised the others had stopped and she walked straight into Mihyun’s back and stumbled forward. 

“There’s more,” Mihyun said.

Jiho glanced behind her to see another half dozen blocking their path.

“Brilliant,” She muttered. 

Seunghee pulled Shiah’s machete from her belt and lifted it. “Should we rush them?”

“We can’t go around.” Mihyun said, “We have no idea what’s hiding down those alleys.”

“On the count of three then,” Seunghee said, glancing at Jiho for confirmation.

Jiho nodded and trained her crossbow on one of the three zombies that had been following them from behind.

“One… two…”

Jiho shot her crossbow as one of the zombies lurched forward, hitting it straight in the chest. She heard Seunghee and Mihyun rush across the snow behind her, and she quickly took down the other two with three more bullets - one to the head, two to the chest. She turned to see Seunghee swinging Shiah’s machete out in front of her, managing to slash one of the zombie’s in the chest. Jiho shot her crossbow again, hitting one in the leg and another in the stomach, but she couldn’t do much more, it was too much of a risk. She didn’t want to hit Mihyun or Seunghee. She dropped her crossbow to the ground and pulled two of the knives from her jacket.

Jiho ended up back to back with Mihyun, the two of them in close combat and surrounded by zombies. Jiho grunted as one lunged forward, stabbing it in the stomach and using the other knife to swipe at its face. She dropped one of her knives as it got closer and kicked at its chest, sending it falling backwards.

“Jiho, duck!”

Jiho obeyed, glancing up just as Mihyun drew her knife along the throat of a zombie that had crept up behind her. Black blood spilled out and it fell onto its knees and then face first into the snow. 

“Thanks,” Jiho said, taking Mihyun’s outstretched hand and standing up.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Mihyun grinned. 

Jiho looked over to see Seunghee pulling her blade from the chest of a fallen zombie, pulling a face at the blood dripping into the snow.

“Gross.” She said.

“Is that them all?” Jiho asked.

“I think so,” Mihyun said. “Just to be sure.” Jiho watched as she walked up to each of the fallen creatures and decapitated them. It was pretty grim to watch, but it was a good idea. They didn’t need any more unexpected surprises.

Jiho picked up her crossbow and shouldered it, washing the blood off of her knives with the snow.

“We should move quickly in case anything else nearby heard us,” Jiho said.

“Yeah,” Mihyun said. “I’ll lead.”

There were no more incidents on the way back to the safe house, but the mood was decidedly more solemn. It had been a while since they’d been crept up upon like that, and Jiho knew it was the first time Mihyun had really engaged in such intense combat with zombies since she’d been with them. As they marched through the snow and past the safe house defences, Jiho made sure to triple check everything was secure and working properly before she went inside. 

 

Mihyun was already sat up on the roof by the time Jiho had taken her bath. Hyejin had decided to break out her bath bombs the minute they’d walked in and she’d seen the sombre looks on their faces. Jiho remembered when she’d first gotten them - it was just after the world had come crashing down around them, and Jiho had rolled her eyes at Hyejin’s insistence on packing them up with her essentials. Now, she appreciated the gesture. Watching it fizz in the bath had calmed her down and helped wash away the anxiety that had settled at the pit of her stomach. Plus, she smelt fruity. Hyejin had pulled her onto the sofa once she was in her pyjamas, hugging her close and sniffing at her citrus scent.

Seunghee had gone straight to bed after she’d cleaned up, but it was Mihyun’s shift on the roof. After Hyejin started snoring, Jiho had slipped out of her arms, pulled on her boots, a jumper and a coat over her pyjamas and headed upstairs.

“Hey,” She said, sitting down next to Mihyun.

“Hey,” Mihyun said, glancing over at her.

“You okay?” 

“I’ve been better,” Mihyun responded.

“You did good out there today,” Jiho said. “Quick thinking with the heads.”

“I’m older than you,” Mihyun laughed. “Shouldn’t I be the one trying to be comforting?”

“Oh get lost, I’m trying” Jiho said, shoving her, and Mihyun laughed.

“I appreciate it,” Mihyun assured her, taking Jiho’s hand and squeezing it tight. The snowfall had calmed considerably since earlier, but it was still heavy enough to stick in Mihyun’s hair. “You should go inside. Get some rest.”

Jiho shook her head. “I’m good with staying out here,” She said. On days like this, the silence was deafening. On days like this, even Jiho didn’t like being alone. 

Mihyun sighed, but didn’t say anything else. She kept hold of Jiho’s hand and looked back out into the darkness.

It had been a long day. Jiho rested her head on Mihyun’s shoulder and thought about what lay ahead. It was dark for most of the day now, and the snow made the house ten times colder, but it wasn’t all bad. Hyejin had promised she was going to make Jiho some new bolts for her crossbow and Yewon had started to decorate the house for Christmas, claiming that since they had no idea when it was, it meant they should celebrate it everyday so that they would get it right eventually. 

Tomorrow would be better. She was sure of it.


End file.
